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UCSB Department of Music graduate composition student Nick Norton and alumnus Dr. Jonathan Morgan just released the single Elegy II through Aerocade Music. The single, which features Morgan on solo viola, was composed by Norton in 2014, in the wake of the Isla Vista tragedies. The single's video (shot and directed by Gaby Goldberg) was recently featured by the popular new music blog, I CARE IF YOU LISTEN. Morgan and Norton are donating 100% of the single's proceeds to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). Watch the video here and read the full press release by Aerocade Music below. Read Aerocade Music's Q&A with the artists here.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Meerenai Shim (415) 309-8364

San Francisco, January 12, 2017 – Aerocade Music announces the release of Elegy II, a collaboration between composer Nick Norton and violist Jonathan Morgan, on January 31, 2017.

Los Angles based composer Nick Norton and violist Jonathan Morgan from Santa Barbara were both in the music department at UC Santa Barbara when the Isla Vista shootings happened in 2014. While obviously horrific, the way the community came together afterward was inspiring. Norton wrote Elegy II almost immediately, and it was premiered at a memorial concert on campus. It's a solemn piece, but it ends on a hopeful note. As there seems to be no end to violence these days, that bit of hope is something we could all use.

Elegy II will be available in all digital audio formats worldwide via iTunes, Amazon, Spotify, Bandcamp, Apple Music, and all major music retailers.

About Nick Norton

Nick Norton is a composer, guitarist, and concert producer from Los Angeles. He is interested in the colorful grey areas between genres, creating new experiences for listeners, and destroying social barriers to enjoying music. The LA Times describes his music as crazy, NewMusicBox referred to his pieces as “visceral sonic haiku,” and Fool In The Forest said they were “fit to melt steel.” Nick is co-artistic director of Equal Sound, founder and editor of New Classic LA, a member of Synchromy, and plays in the bands Honest Iago, Better Looking People With Superior Ideas, and The Newports.

He really enjoys craft beer, sci fi and being near or in the ocean, and holds degrees from UC San Diego and King’s College London. He is currently pursuing his PhD in composition from UC Santa Barbara.

About Jonathan Morgan

Jonathan Morgan is a concert violist and violinist specializing in music by living composers. As a founding member of the Now Hear Ensemble, Jonathan has concertized extensively in California at venues like REDCAT, Stanford’s CCRMA, UC Berkeley’s CNMAT, Art Share LA, San Francisco’s Center for New Music, Classical Revolution LA, the Piano Kitchen, USC’s Fisher Museum, the Santa Barbara Museum of Art, the Museum of Contemporary Art Santa Barbara, UCSD’s Conrad Prebys Music Center, and Lotte Lehmann Concert Hall. The Now Hear Ensemble is the Resident Ensemble at the UC Santa Barbara Department of Music, with whom Jonathan has premiered numerous commissioned works. In 2016 Jonathan gave the world premier performance of At Any Point for solo viola, chamber ensemble, and smartphone app by Anthony Paul Garcia. Jonathan has collaborated with many eminent composers, including Joel Feigin, Clarence Barlow, Oswaldo Golijov, Joshua Carro, Luke Taylor, David Werfelmann, Dan Miller, Nick Norton, Eoin Callery, Constantin Basica, Anders Lind, Marc Evans, Dan Vanhassel, Mica Levi, Anthony Paul Garcia, and Federico Llach. Jonathan has regularly performed with wildUp in a mix of venues including the Walt Disney Concert Hall, Hammer Museum, Santa Ana Sites, Colburn School’s Zipper Hall, and LA’s Regent Theater – all under the direction of Christopher Rountree. Jonathan holds degrees from UC Santa Barbara, the Cleveland Institute of Music, and the Peabody Conservatory of the Johns Hopkins University.

About Aerocade Music

Aerocade Music is an independent record label based in the San Francisco Bay Area specializing in contemporary classical, experimental, and electronic music. Other releases include The Kuiper Belt by Alchymie & Gregg Skloff, Variety Show by A/B Duo, Scordatura by cellist Hannah Addario-Berry, I watch the fire as the days echo away by Joseph M. Colombo and The Living Earth Show, Beneath a Canopy of Angels, a River of Stars by the Post-Haste Reed Duo, and Pheromone by flutist Meerenai Shim.